BREEAM Excellent

In transforming this historic structure KPF put the working practices of Unilever employees at the heart of the design process. When Unilever made 100 Victoria Embankment its London headquarters in the 1930s, it was hailed as the “wonder building of modern commerce.” The new headquarters is a highly flexible modern workplace, able to accommodate every kind of working behaviour in a commercially efficient and environmentally sustainable way. KPF’s design preserving and restoring the exterior of the historic Grade II listed structure while completely renovating, reconfiguring and modernizing the interior. A landmark for sustainability, the design was awarded a BREEAM Excellent score for its energy efficiency and conservati... More

The new purpose-built Lambeth Palace Library designed by Wright and Wright Architects and constructed by Knight Harwood has reached practical completion. A significant new addition to London’s civic architecture, Lambeth Palace Library is the first new building on the site for 185 years and will host the Church of England’s archive – the most important collection of religious books, manuscripts and archives in Europe, after the Vatican. A period of acclimatisation and phased transfer of the collection will follow, with the official opening anticipated to be in early 2021.   The building is a sensitive yet distinctly modern architectural addition to the site of the Grade I listed Palace. Nestling in amongst mature tr... More

The Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve is a bold departure from other reserves from the UK’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). This former military firing range in Essex has been transformed into a 362-hectare nature reserve and has been designated “Special Site of Scientific Interest” because of its importance as a place for wildlife. After a design competition, van Heyningen and Haward Architects was chosen to renovate the visitor center. The ambition was that the building should act as a catalyst to attract people to the Marshes, where they would learn about the 250 species of birds to be found there. The purpose was to design an iconic and demonstrative building which clearly and proudly displayed its sust... More

A BREEAM excellent re-imagining of historic buildings in Islington.   A former 1850s sorting office in Islington, we transformed the space into a high-quality, single occupancy workspace. The building, on a prominent corner site in Essex Road close to Camden Passage.   The project radically adapts and extends the locally listed Merchants Hall to include a new reception front­ing Essex Road, a new four-storey extension in the rear vacant car park, and a new two-storey roof exten­sion. In addition the refurbishment of a former coach house to the rear of the building on Packington Street to create two units of affordable workspace and two new residential units.   A contemporary material palette includes white o... More

Tapijn undergoes a true metamorphosis; from abandoned barracks to a lively city park. This will not only be the place for residents to stroll and do recreational activities, but also a pleasant environment to study or work. Maastricht University has openedthis new and unique location in March 2020. Team LIAG (with Bosch Slabbers as landscape architect enJelle de Boer as restoration architect)is responsible for the transformation of the existing barracks into a healthy educational environment. Team LIAG has preserved the context of the environment and the building values as a monument.   The former barracks site was built between 1916-1919. And in 2010 the last NATO soldiers left the Tapijnkazerne. The new users are School of Business... More

The Clichy-Batignolles area stretches 53 ha into the North-Western part of Paris. The former rail wasteland has been turned into a spacious 10 ha park designed by Jacqueline Osty, around which the new urban center, connected to the rest of the city by bridges and urban transportation, is being developed.   Two main lines of research are inherent to the project: to turn the office building into a major actor in the city and, in parallel with this attempt at opening a dialogue, to break the uniformity while preserving the qualities of the area. Sitting on the railway slab ten meters above the soil, the building is entirely detached from the ground, as if it were levitating. From the sides, Seasons appears as a 16-meter wide long body o... More

The office building Régent 35 - Loi 13 was completed in June 2016. The location of the property is remarkable, situated at the intersection between Rue de la Loi and Boulevard du Régent, within 100 m from the Royal Park and the Prime Minister’s office. The building used to form a city gate; its symmetry with the Regent 36 building was of controversial quality and left room for improvement. The project consisted of the demolition of the existing construction and the rebuilding of a contemporary office block with a template of R+5 + 2 decreasing levels, reaching 7.294 m² above ground. The basement counts 37 parking spaces. The layout plan for the new building, based on a 135 cm module, is the result of thorough thinki... More

Trumpington Community College was designed and built with strong sustainability in mind and features 245 VELUX Modular Skylights. Sustainability drove every aspect of the college masterplan, including a transport target for 90% of students to arrive by foot, bicycle or public transport.The college wanted to create a level of transparency that would allow students and staff the benefit of light as well as a glimpse of the weather outside, while preventing glare and high contrast ratios.Light and fresh air fill the heart of the school thanks to the prolific use of VELUX modular skylights. Double-sided window glazing to classrooms also provide good natural daylight. To minimise glare, the skylight modules in the atrium were supplied with opal... More

GROUP A has completed the sculptural office tower centrally located in the vibrant Utrecht Station Area. The 90-meter-high Central Park is named after the subtropical park that marks the city’s 45 meter line. The two-story indoor park is enclosed by a receding glass facade embracing the park like an undulating curtain. This is where employees come together to unwind, brainstorm or attend an event in a unique ecosystem overlooking the city. By making the indoor park the building’s central feature, GROUP A adds a landmark to the city’s skyline and establishes a new standard for green office buildings. Sebastian van Damme Sebastian van Damme Jordi Huisman Subtropical meeting place With a green gesture to... More

Grafton Architects unveils ‘Warehouse of Ideas’ for Kingston UniversityRIBA Gold Medal winner Grafton Architects completes its first UK building for Kingston University   The recipient of this year’s RIBA Gold Medal, Grafton Architects, has completed Town House – a £50m landmark teaching building for Kingston University in London. The Dublin-based practice was selected to design the scheme from a five-strong shortlist following a competition initiated by Kingston University in conjunction with RIBA in 2013. Designed to act as the University’s front door and a gateway to Kingston upon Thames, Town House is part of a new vision for Kingston, encouraging informal learning and building stronger links w... More

Walsingham House – a prominent 1930s office building in the City of London’s Trinity Square Conservation Area – has undergone an extensive structural renovation by John Robertson Architects (JRA) for KHI Holdings Group. Originally designed by Howard & Souster in 1928-29, the building is defined by a classical Portland stone façade and sits on the corner of Crutched Friars, Seething Lane and Pepys Street, with the Grade I-listed St Olaves’s Church and the Grade II* listed Trinity Square directly adjacent.   The practice infilled the existing lightwell with new core facilities to create clean, practical floorplates which incorporate flexible workspaces and Grade A office accommodation suitable for mod... More

Thinkspace is an integrated education and research facility at Imperial College’s White City Campus. It sits within a larger master plan that has created a vibrant mixed-use urban quarter, integrating academic programme with office, retail, hotel and residential uses in an inclusive, welcoming and publicly-accessible environment.   It is located on a prominent site next to the Westway, the long and elevated motorway that serves as a main artery into London and is already becoming the focal point of a cluster of future science and technology companies in the local Opportunity Area Planning Framework.   The building provides bespoke accommodation for technology start-up companies created from the College’s research e... More

A network of public spaces integrates new hotel with the circular and social ambitions of Buiksloterham. The first guests checked into YOTEL Amsterdam in the city’s north. Commissioned by Being Development, Studioninedots designed the hotel as a composition of freestanding volumes in a spacious park-like setting. Instead of one single solid block with a garden, the design comprises five pavilions of varying heights and an open ground floor, and a series of interconnected indoor and outdoor public spaces. Through this layering of spaces, guests experience unexpected visual connections between the lobby, landscape, restaurant, courtyard - with an open-air cinema in summer - and waterside terrace facing Tolhuiskanaal. With its open char... More

Dedicated to delivering world class research together with new treatments and therapies, the Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children for Great Ormond Street Hospital Foundation Trust, University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is the world’s first purpose-built centre dedicated to paediatric research into rare diseases. © Hufton + Crow The public-facing research facility in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter is conceived as a holistic space where science, city and human lives come together. © Hufton + Crow Inside, the Zayed Centre for Research is organised around two connected ‘hearts’, an outpatient zone and a research zone, each pla... More